20 August 2013

Embark Shortly Upon the Era of Air Travel

When it comes to extinct attractions we often have a moment or
two in the attraction that shine brighter in our mind more than the rest of the
attraction. Sometimes it is the big splashy ‘wow’ moment and sometimes it can
be that small little detail from the queue that really stuck with us. You can
always tell a great attraction from its ability for each guest to have a very
different element that was that special place for them. Take, for example Delta
Dreamflight.

Delta Dreamflight opened in June of 1989 and flew guests
through the history of flight and across the globe until January of 1998. Many
remember the front section of the plane, known as the Spirit of Delta, and the
gate that comprised much of the queue or the cut-out barnyard aerial show that
filled a vast room. Some remember the video screen with high flying stunts, the
smoky turbine effect, or the pop-up book of air travel. For me, however it was
always the scene with the global clipper.

The scene starts in San Francisco, as seen here, with the
flying boat docked across from the Golden Gate Bridge. Guests would then move
into the dining area of the global clipper, a Martin M-130 that began flying in
1934 and had its final flight in 1945, which is dripping in elegance. Exiting
the other side of the clipper, and guests find themselves in a scene that jumps
right off of the tour book of Japan. A quick turn, and guests are atop the
hills of Paris, complete with sidewalk café and a Delta plane projected in the
distant clouds.

There is so much that I love from the first several decades
of Tomorrowland, and Delta Dreamflight is definitely up there. Maybe it was the
fact that I didn’t fly anywhere as a child, or maybe it was just that
fascination with cool looking vehicles, but Delta Dreamflight, its scenes and
music are ingrained in my memory and instantly bring a smile to my face. And
there is no section of that attraction that I remember more fondly than global
clipper tour. What was your favorite scene of Delta Dreamflight?

5 comments:

I really liked Delta Dreamflight, though at the time I felt a little hollow because I loved If You Had Wings even more. Nothing against Buzz Lightyear, but I still really miss those goofy rides in Tomorrowland.

If You Had Wings is one of the few attractions I remember from my visit in 1984. I was around 8 at the time, so the wacky film loops of flamingos and Bahamanian traffic cops was right in my wheelhouse.